Miracle duckling survived black bear attack (so far!)... (graphic pic)

Hi everyone!
I have been following posts on here for a while (ever since I got a few backyard chickens of my own..) and thought I would post for the first time today!

It all started with a broody hen.... We have an Americauna that decided that she was bound and determined to hatch eggs (regardless of the fact that we have no rooster....) and even with all the tips and tricks on this forum we were unable to get her to stop being broody! So we decided to get her some fertile eggs to hatch...but we didn't want to risk getting a rooster, so we thought DUCKS! Well, to make a long story short, she quite successfully incubated and hatched 3 beautiful ducklings. They will are just over 3 weeks old now and cute as can be!

Well...on Saturday we had a bear attack! We heard quite a commotion coming from the hen house (at first we thought it was the egg song, but fortunately we noticed it didn't sound right!) and looked out the windows to see a big black bear chasing after my beloved Bob (Silver-laced Wyandotte, and yes...Bob is a girl). The bear had ripped down an entire wall of the chicken run and Bob was running for her life! My hubby and I went running to the sliding glass door on the side of the hous closest to the coop and pounded on it to get the bear's attention...once it stopped chasing Bob, we stepped outside and started making all sorts of a racket, and managed to scare the bear off!!

We ran to the chicken coop to get all the girls (and ducklings) into the henhouse for safe keeping and I spotted one of our sweet babies lying bloody on the ground. She was just sitting there looking around, completely in shock! I scooped her up and got her inside, cleaned and dressed her wound (she's missing a large portion of skin) and then hopped on the internet to learn everything I could about treating wounds in birds! (For the record, everybody seems to have their own methods of treating wounds!! I had a hard time figuring out which way was best!!) We ended up putting her in a wire dog crate with food and water and soft bedding in a nice dark, quiet room and hoped for the best. We figured if she made it through the night, she might have a chance! Well...It's Tuesday and she's still with us and though she had a rough couple of days, she seems to be recovering!!

I am in complete and utter awe of the resiliency and strength of such a fragile creature! How on Earth does a 3 week old, half-pound duckling survive being mauled by a 300+ pound black bear?? I know she's still not out of the woods, but I am hopeful that she will survive, she's made amazing strides just in the last 36 hours! If she makes it, she is going to be named BEAR! (Right now she's so little I've been calling her Little Bear, or Baby Bear And here's a pic of her snuggling with me today....

What a cute duckling! Did any of your chickens get killed? I hope Bear recovers!

You will be really surprised at what they can survive - but man a BEAR!!!!! The trick will be making sure Baby Bear doesn't get infection in her wound.

My own dogs did this to this girl (there is a missing patch of skin also) and she is doing well today and even grew her feathers back in.

Oh and - sorry it is on such a stressful note!

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None of the other animals were injured!! Thank goodness!!

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Not to be smart, but that is where the mistake is often made. Just because they are small by no means mean they are fragile. God made them tough. If animals were as weak and fragile as humans believe there would be none in the wild. You should see some of the stuff whitetail deer survive--and do so quite well.

aw, the poor baby! i'd say you'll probably be ok, i know it looks awful.. i don't have time to show the the mess a raccoon did to one of our ducks but it looked quite similar to that .. other than the loss of an eye(well very minimal sight) he has made a full recovery we thought it would die.. as others have said they are a lot stronger than they appear. Best of luck to your little one!

What a precious little one. We dont have bears here- so I have never really looked into what they may carry- but I know that a lot of wild animals can carry bacteria in the mouth that can cause terrible infections when they maul an animal. Keeping the would clean and making sure no infection sets in would be my first suggestion...apart from that- lots of love and cuddles for your lucky little one. Birds can at times go into shock very easily- but it sounds like she has made it past the time that would be likely to happen. Making sure she continues to eat while she recovers is important to keep up her strength- not only is she growing very fast but not a lot of energy will be used trying to heal as well. Please let us all know how she goes over the next few days and weeks.

Poor little thing! It sounds like she's recovering well, though, and you're doing everything you can for her. Make sure she can clean herself--a tray of clean water she can bathe in would probably be appreciated a couple times a day, and it will help her keep the wound clean too. Or half an hour in the bath tub, if she's up for it.

Yes, everyone has their own way of doing things, and we all have to learn as we go. The best source for info in the duck world is Dave Holderread. He has been raising and showing ducks professionally for over 50 years. He is the world's premier expert, and wrote the duck bible, called Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. Just for future reference, when you have conflicting information. He also has a website, holderreadfarm.org, though it's mostly about their birds and purchasing.

Good luck, we're all pulling for the little one. Not many people--or animals--can say they've survived a bear attack. You'll have to name her Bear Girl or something.

Oh, Poor Baby Bear! I hope she heals completely well.

Are you putting her on preventative antibiotics?

If so, how much? I am very curious about what dosage you might be using and where you found that type of info.
I think that might be very good info to have on hand....just in case.

Good Luck to you and the baby!